How well do you know your smartphone, and what features are the most useful for you?
According to a study published in Computers in Human Behavior, about 45% of phone usage in seniors is used for socializing and staying connected with loved ones. But with how complex smartphones are, using your phone for this purpose can feel difficult.
Finding the right smartphones for seniors can help, but understanding your settings is better. Knowing simple phone settings and user-friendly apps will help you to better master your phone.
If you’re looking for a senior smartphone guide, we’re here to help. Read on for a quick list of tech tips for elderly users.
Accessibility Features
What’s available in terms of mobile help for seniors? Smartphones are chock full of accessibility features that make them easier to use. From more visible screens to having things read to you, here are our favorite accessibility features to activate.
Text to Speech
Text-to-speech is a setting that you can use to have your text read aloud. Typically, this is useful for people with poor eyesight or reading disabilities.
Text-to-speech isn’t always active by default, so you’ll need to turn it on. Where you do so depends on your phone’s brand and model, but it’s always in the accessibility features.
With text-to-speech, you can highlight text to have it read aloud. Some phones let you customize things like:
- The volume of the speech
- The speed of speaking
- The voice speaking
That makes this a great feature if you’re struggling to find your eyeglasses.
Larger Font
Prefer to read yourself but struggling with tiny font? Some smartphones for seniors use larger fonts to make it easier to read.
You may also have noticed that many seniors write in all caps. In many cases, that’s so that the words are larger and easier to read.
Instead, you can go into your settings on your smartphone and increase the size of the font. There’s a limit on how big you can make it, but this limit goes rather high, so you shouldn’t need many higher settings.
Don’t like what you set it to? Don’t worry about it, you can always return to this and change it whenever you’d like. These aren’t permanent changes, so you don’t need to concern yourself about “ruining” your phone!
Facial Recognition ID
Facial recognition ID is a relatively recent improvement in many smartphones. Facial recognition uses your phone’s front-facing camera to scan your face for certain features.
Many other phones will use a fingerprint to do the same thing. Depending on your phone, yours might even do both.
Your face is most often scanned to unlock your phone rather than put a password in. It may also be scanned to use certain user-friendly apps. For example, it’s common for banking apps to use facial scans instead of passwords to make your account more secure.
Using this feature cuts down on how often you need to type your password. If you struggle with arthritis or are still learning to type, this is a great feature to help. It’s also great if you need help remembering passwords.
Larger App Icons
If you like having a larger font, you may also like having larger app icons. Some simple phone settings will let you tweak the size of the icons on your screen. That’s great if you don’t have many apps, but be careful, as it means fewer apps per page on your phone.
Simplifying Smartphones
What can you do other than change settings? There’s more to tech tips for elderly users than simple phone settings. Here are some more tips for your senior smartphone guide.
Organize the Home Screen
Do you find yourself traveling all over your home screen to find the right applications? You can shift your home screen to better fit what you need.
The way you rearrange your applications changes depending on what phone you have. For most phones, you’ll hold down on one of the icons until they all wiggle.
From here, you can arrange them how you see fit. Put the ones you use most on the first page, while the ones you use less often can go elsewhere. You can also make categories with this method to organize your icons.
Understand Voice Commands
If typing is troublesome, you’ll enjoy the voice commands that most smartphones for seniors come with. Voice commands allow you to avoid typing and instead use your voice to access some features.
Most smartphones come with a voice assistant. You can issue simple commands like:
- Call a certain contact
- Open specific applications
- Set your alarms or timers
Familiarize yourself with what voice commands your phone allows.
Use Emergency Contacts
Emergency contacts are an important accessibility and safety feature for all users. Your emergency contact is the person your phone is set to prioritize in case of an emergency.
Make sure you set who’s most important to call. We suggest using:
- A loved one
- A neighbor
- A family member
According to the University of Michigan, emergency contacts are vital in case of emergencies or accidents.
Adjust Brightness
If you’re struggling to see on your phone, your brightness may be too low! You can use some simple settings to make your phone brighter.
Be careful, though. According to Business Insider, bright lights can make your brain struggle to sleep at night. You also can strain your eyes if you’re staring into too bright of a light.
Use a Case and a Stylus
Finally, consider a phone case to keep your phone safe in case of dropping. That helps you avoid a cracked screen or broken phone.
A stylus can also help you use your phone easier. It’s great for anyone with arthritis who might struggle to use their fingers.
Understanding Smartphones for Seniors
Understanding smartphones for seniors will help to make smartphones much easier to use going forward. Understand simple phone settings and user-friendly apps that can drastically improve accessibility.
At Spring Mill Senior Living, located in Phoenixville, PA, we offer resort-style amenities and various floor plans to make sure you’re given the most customized care we can offer. Our exclusive lifestyle programs are personalized to you to make sure all your needs are taken care of. Schedule a tour to see how we can help you in your retirement.
